When God Opens Our Eyes

0:00The angel of the Lord asked him, Why have you beaten your donkey these three times? Numbers chapter 22 verse 32. Welcome to today's encouragement from our daily bread. When God opens our eyes, was written by Monica LaRose and read by Tony Collier. Numbers chapter 22 verses 22 through 23 and 25 through 31. Baalam was writing on his donkey and his two servants were with him. When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord standing in the road with a drawn sword in his hand, it turned off the road into a field. Baalam beat it to get it back on the road. When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord again, it pressed close to the wall, crushing Baalam's foot against it, so he beat the donkey again. Then the angel of the Lord moved on ahead and stood in a narrow place

1:02where there was no room to turn, either to the right or to the left. When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, it lay down under Baalam and he was angry and beat it with his staff. Then the Lord opened the donkey's mouth and it said to Baalam, What have I done to you to make you beat me these three times? Baalam answered the donkey, you have made a fool of me. If only I had a sword in my hand, I would kill you right now. The donkey said to Baalam, Am I not your own donkey? Would you have always ridden to this day? Have I been in the habit of doing this to you? No, he said. Then the Lord opened Baalam's eyes and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the road with his sword drawn, so he bowed low and fell face down. When God opens your eyes, written by Monica LaRose.

2:04In 13th century France, legend has it that a night left his baby boy at home guarded by his grey-hound dog, Gwynfort. The night returned to find chaos. The crib overturned, his son nowhere to be seen, and his hounds mouth covered in blood, assuming the dog had harmed his son he killed it. Afterward, he found the body of a large snake covered in dog bites, and his son unharmed under the cradle. Gwynfort had saved the baby's life. The dog's heroism and unjust fate so moved people that they misguidedly revered Gwynfort as a saint. Scripture records a similar incident in which an animal was unjustly punished for protecting its owner. The prophet Baalam had been hired by the Moabite King to curse God's people. On Baalam's journey, an angel of the Lord with drawn sword blocked his path. Baalam's donkey, seeing the danger, avoided the angel twice, only to be beaten for his efforts.

3:07When the donkey could no longer evade the angel, he refused to move, and again was punished. Finally, God enabled the donkey to speak and defend itself, and then he opened Baalam's eyes to see the angel and heed God's instructions. We're not likely to hear an animal talk back to us anytime soon, but God can still open our eyes in unexpected ways. And when that happens, let's be prepared to listen. Let's pray. Lord, open our eyes to the unexpected ways you speak into our lives, that we might otherwise overlook or even dismiss grant us sensitivity to the presence of your spirit in our lives, so that when we hear you speaking, we would pause, listen, and heed your guidance. Thank you, Lord. It's in Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.

4:09As you go about your day, reflect on these questions. When his God opens your eyes, how has that changed you?